[ARC5] Non Directional Beacons

[David Stinson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Morrow" <kk5f at earthlink.net>
Subject: Re: [ARC5] Non Directional Beacons


> That propagation was what helped make listening to the old MF 
> maritime Morse band (410 to 535 kHz) so fascinating....
> I miss that band's maritime activity and night-time propagation 
> more than that of any other, including ham bands.

You are not alone, sir.  Listening there and to maritime traffic 
on HF helped teach me the code, especailly to increase my speed; 
those ops were fast.  I miss it very much.  Since I was 8 or 9 
years old, Radio has been magical to me.  When maritime CW passed 
away, much of the magic went with it.

> NDBs were once a lot more interesting, with aviation weather 
> and airport advisories running continuously...
I remember very well.  It seemed to me (and still does) that 
removing the aviation weather from NDBs is a waste of resources. 
The transmitters are there.  The National Weather Service 
produces the product which they broadcast on 162 MC 24/7.  Why 
not?

> I was too late to hear any MF Adcock A-N directional beacon 
> signals.
When I was a child in North Louisiana, there was an A-N beacon, 
IIRC, between the BCB and 160 mters.  I was told it was very 
powerful and in the Caribbean.   I could hear it very strong at 
night and, given the distance, propagation would play with the 
signal, "A" being dominant at one instance, fading into "N" in 
another.  I didn't know what it was then; only that it was almost 
hypnotic if you listened to it for long.  Does anyone else 
remember this beacon?  Loran was still whacking the middle of 160 
mtrs at the time.

73 Dave S.